It was awarded "Fight of the Night," and it was worthy. But imagine how much better it would have been if Brown hadn't hurt his right hand. Nothing official on that, yet, and we couldn't ask Brown because he went to the hospital after the fight -- possibly for any number of things.

He was bleeding from the first round on, and he was shaking his right hand from at least the mid point. That would explain all the elbows he threw at Lawler.

Lawler looked strong throughout, all the way to the end. That was not the case in his March loss to Johny Hendricks, when Lawler seemed to run out of gas. He pressured the whole fight, never let up. He seemed ahead of the game from the start.

So he gets Hendricks again, another title shot. Rumored to be early next year. He has earned a rest. This was his third fight since March.

And while we're at it, with all the nicknames in the game, why isn't he Robbie "The Brawler" Lawler?

As for Brown, his valiant effort, completely in character, could lead to a move up in the rankings despite the loss -- a notion voiced by Dana White himself.

ANTHONY JOHNSON over ROGERIO NOGUEIRA, TKO Round 1

Not much to say about this one. Johnson put Nogueira against the fence, hit him with an uppercut, and another uppercut and that was it. He literally didn't break a sweat.

There wasn't enough time to even see if Nogueira looked 38.

DENNIS BERMUDEZ over CLAY GUIDA, tapout Round 2.

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Keep an eye on Bermudez. He won his biggest challenge, choking out Guida. He's 7-0 since his first UFC fight (a 2011 loss to Diego Brandao) and 15-3 overall. Look for him to make a considerable leap from No. 12 ranking

Guida offered little more than his typical manic act, bouncing around from before the beginning to after the end. Ever the showman, he had the presence of mind, while in trouble in Round 1, to stick his tongue out for the fan cam. The crowd loved it.

BOBBY GREEN over JOSH THOMSON, 29-28, 28-29, 29-28

Not a popular decision, and not just because Thomson was fighting in his hometown. Even Dana White had the split decision going Thomson's way.

We had Green winning the third round, but gave the first two to Thomson.

"There's no way I lost that fight," Thomson said.

At 35, and with two consecutive losses, it's hard to know what comes next for The Punk,

As for Green, it should be noted that he took this fight on 12 days notice and was fighting with a heavy heart, having recently lost a brother to a shooting.

Green is 4-0, and an impressive specimen, but those were the most impressive facts of his performance.